Small
·
2023
·Vol. 19
·期 23
·2207360
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IF 13.3
Weiwei Zhang,Yuguo Deng,Jinhao Zhao,Tao Zhang,Xiang Zhang,Wenping Song,Lin Wang,Tianlong Li
Nature provides a successful evolutionary direction for single-celled organisms to solve complex problems and complete survival tasks – pseudopodium. Amoeba, a unicellular protozoan, can produce temporary pseudopods in any direction by controlling the directional flow of protoplasm to perform important life activities such as environmental sensing, motility, predation, and excretion. However, creating robotic systems with pseudopodia to emulate environmental adaptability and tasking capabilities of natural amoeba or amoeboid cells remains challenging. Here, this work presents a strategy that uses alternating magnetic fields to reconfigure magnetic droplet into Amoeba-like microrobot, and the mechanisms of pseudopodia generation and locomotion are analyzed. By simply adjusting the field direction, microrobots switch in monopodia, bipodia, and locomotion modes, performing all pseudopod operations such as active contraction, extension, bending, and amoeboid movement. The pseudopodia endow droplet robots with excellent maneuverability to adapt to environmental variations, including spanning 3D terrains and swimming in bulk liquids. Inspired by the “Venom,” the phagocytosis and parasitic behaviors have also been investigated. Parasitic droplets inherit all the capabilities of amoeboid robot, expanding their applicable scenarios such as reagent analysis, microchemical reactions, calculi removal, and drug-mediated thrombolysis. This microrobot may provide fundamental understanding of single-celled livings, and potential applications in biotechnology and biomedicine.
研究领域:
生物医学工程
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仿生学
·
微纳米技术
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DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
International Journal of Biological Sciences
·
2024
·
IF 8.2
Suyun Yu,Rui Deng,Wei Wang,Defang Zou,Liang He,Zhonghong Wei,Yanhong Pan,Xiaoman Li,Yuanyuan Wu,Aiyun Wang,Wenxing Chen,Yang Zhao,Yin Lu
The thermo-sensory receptor, transient receptor potential channel 5 (TRPC5), a non-selective calcium ion (Ca 2+ )-permeable ion channel, has been implicated in cancer initiation and progression. However, its specific role in gastrointestinal cancer remains unclear. This study demonstrates that TRPC5 is significantly overexpressed in gastrointestinal tumors and is inversely associated with patient prognosis. TRPC5 overexpression triggers a substantial elevation in intracellular Ca 2+ levels ([Ca 2+ ]i), driving actin cytoskeleton reorganization and facilitating filopodia formation. Furthermore, kaempferol, a compound sourced from traditional Chinese medicine, is identified as a TRPC5 inhibitor that effectively suppresses its activity, thereby impeding gastrointestinal cancer metastasis. These findings underscore the potential of TRPC5 as a therapeutic target for metastasis inhibition, with kaempferol emerging as a promising natural inhibitor that could be optimized for clinical use in preventing cancer metastasis.
研究领域:
肿瘤学
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药理学
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细胞生物学
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癌症研究
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DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Nature Communications
·
2025
·Vol. 16
·期 1
·1-18
·
IF 15.7
Yu Xiaolei,Mukwaya Vincent,Wang Li,Zhao Weili,Mann Stephen,Dou Hongjing
The mechanisms underlying the probing and response of cells to direct cell-presented mechanical signals generated in the local microenvironment are important controllers of diverse cell behaviours. Here we construct a model artificial pathogen cell with the similar compartmentalization architecture and same range of tunable rigidity as found in natural cells. By incubating the artificial cells with macrophages, we investigate the mechanisms of mechano-crosstalk between living cells and model protocells. We show that macrophages are equipped with distinct pseudopodia that facilitate the probing of cell-presented mechanical signals. Increasing the rigidity of the artificial pathogen cells enhances the proinflammatory polarization of the macrophages by promoting the docking of the mechanosensitive molecular clutch, actin assembly, and pseudopodia extension. The relationship between cell morphology and functional plasticity involves a mechano-transduction axis including artificial cell rigidity, pseudopodia, and macrophage inflammatory response. Taken together, our model protocells provide a new platform to decouple cell-presented mechanical signals and highlight their role in governing protocell-living cell mechano-crosstalk.
研究领域:
生物医学工程
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细胞生物学
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免疫学
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生物材料
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纳米医学
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DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Biomaterials Science
·
2018
·Vol. 7
·期 3
·876-888
·
IF 5.831
Kejia Zhang,Jun Xing,Junqi Chen,Zhengao Wang,Jinxia Zhai,Tiantian Yao,Guoxin Tan,Suijian Qi,Dafu Chen,Peng Yu,Chengyun Ning
Implanted materials that enter the body first interact with proteins in body fluids, and cells then perceive and respond to the foreign implant through this layer of adsorbed proteins. Thus, spatially specific regulation of protein adsorption on an implant surface is pivotal for mediating subsequent cellular behaviors. Unlike the surface modulation strategy for traditional biomaterials, in this research, materials with a nonuniform spatial distribution of surface charges were designed to achieve site-selective protein adsorption and further influence cell behavior by charge regulation. Spatially varying microdomains with different levels of piezoelectricity were generated via a focus laser beam-induced phase transition. In addition, after polarization, the zones with different levels of piezoelectricity showed significant differences in surface charge density. The results of scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy (SKPM) showed that the surface charge on the material exhibits a nonuniform spatial distribution after laser irradiation and polarization. Site-specific charge-mediated selective protein adsorption was demonstrated through a protein adsorption experiment. Cell behavior analysis showed that the increase in charge density was conducive to promoting cell adhesion and the formation of filopodia while the nonuniform spatial distribution of charge promoted an oriented arrangement of cells; both features accelerated cell migration. This study provides a new method for spatially regulating protein adsorption through surface charges to further influence cell behaviors.
研究领域:
生物材料
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生物医学工程
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细胞生物学
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材料科学
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DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
·
2020
·
IF 4.364
Feng Chenxi,Bao Xiaoming,Shan Ling,Ling Yunxiang,Ding Yanfei,Wang Jia,Cao Yanzi,Wang Qinwen,Cui Wei,Xu Shujun
Calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCRs). Soluble β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) is one of the orthosteric modulators of CaSR, while, the role and underlying mechanism of CaSR in cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is unclear. In this study, molecular technology such as live-cell imaging combined with behavioral tests were used to explore the role and the underlying mechanism of CaSR in the cognitive deficits in AD mice. The expression levels of CaSR were increased both in AD mice and Aβ1–42 (β-amyloid protein)-treated primary cultured neurons. Pharmacological inhibition of CaSR ameliorated recognitive and spatial memory deficits of Aβ1–42-oligomer-treated mice in a dose-dependent manner. Pharmacological inhibition of CaSR or down-regulation of the expression of CaSR by CaSR-shRNA-lentivirus prevented the impairment of filopodia, and the synapse induced by oligomeric Aβ1–42. The contents of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in hippocampal neurons and tissue were increased after treatment with Aβ1–42 oligomers. Inhibition or down-regulation of CaSR mediates Aβ-induced synapse formation and cognitive deficits partially, through the activation of the cPLA2/PGE2 pathway. This study provides novel insights on CaSR, which is a promising therapeutic target for AD.
研究领域:
神经科学
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药理学
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分子生物学
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神经退行性疾病
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DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
LANGMUIR
·
2024
·
IF 3.7
Xiaokai Pan,Juan Nie,Jiacheng Lei,Peng Wang,Kaikai Zheng,Qiang Wei,Xiaojing Liu
Understanding how the spatial distribution of adhesive ligands regulates cell behavior is crucial for designing biomaterials. This study investigates how precisely controlled ligand spacing affects cell spreading and integrin subtype engagement. Using engineered polyacrylamide hydrogels with gold nanoparticle arrays, we explored the impact of RGD ligand spacings (30 and 150 nm) on human mesenchymal stromal cells. Cells exhibited distinct morphological behaviors: smaller spacings promoted larger spreading areas, while larger spacings resulted in elongated shapes with reduced spreading. Mechanistically, we found that the α5β1 integrin, not the αvβ3 integrin, played a central role in mediating these responses, alongside lamellipodia formation. Our findings provide critical insights into the spatial sensing of ligands, highlighting the influence of ligand spacing on cellular mechanotransduction and integrin-specific responses. This work advances the understanding of cell-material interactions and offers potential strategies for designing biomaterials to guide cell behavior in tissue engineering.
研究领域:
细胞生物学
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生物材料科学
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组织工程
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生物物理学
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产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
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